Driver's escape after 100ft cliff fall

A man is recovering in hospital today after surviving a 100ft fall down a sheer cliff face.

The driver, 42, who slipped while checking his car for damage following a minor accident, landed on a patch of sand and grass on a concrete path.

Rescue crews who attended the scene at Rottingdean, near Brighton, were amazed to find him alive and conscious, with just a broken pelvis and leg.

Solent coastguard called his survival "pretty miraculous". A spokesman said: "He landed on just about the only patch of soft stuff around."

The lucky driver, who is believed initially to have skidded into the steel cliff barrier, is said to be making a good recovery.